


College Life

by thesoundofnat



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Academy Era, Starfleet Academy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-23
Updated: 2017-09-23
Packaged: 2019-01-04 09:49:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12166518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesoundofnat/pseuds/thesoundofnat
Summary: “Hi,” Jim replied, somewhat awkwardly. He felt as if he’d seen that man before, but he couldn’t place him. Couldn’t put a name to the face. “I’m sorry to start off by this, but are you okay?”The man blinked. “Me?”“I don’t mean to judge you,” Jim continued. “But I’m pretty sure that the food in your bowl is cold ramen. And it’s 4 in the morning.”





	College Life

Jim was about to get a third refill of coffee for the night when he realized the tin he kept the sacred beans in was empty, and then all hell broke loose.

Sure, the world remained the same. As still as it could be on a campus during deadline season (which was practically every other week). But for Jim it was different. He went through ten different types of breakdowns before he managed to get his feet to unglue themselves from the floor and march out of his dorm room. There had to be coffee  _somewhere_. It didn’t matter that it was close to 4AM. This was a college, a university, whatever else you want to call the Starfleet Academy, and they all relied on coffee as much as he did. He was even willing to pay for it if he had to (though preferably not. there was a reason he hadn’t restocked his old stash yet. times were rough).

He wandered the dark halls, knowing full well he wasn’t the only one awake despite what the silence tried to indicate. He felt like he would’ve felt very self conscious about this a month ago, but he knew no one would judge him for having gone insane enough to take walks at this hour. Such was the charm of education.

Jim paused just outside a small kitchen that practically no one used, the light having been visible from miles away and thus reminded him of the place’s existence. He peeked into the room, his eyes being drawn to a large coffee cup immediately, its content steamy and dreamy. Jim could barely look away.

Look, he wasn’t a thief. Despite what sort of life he’d led he’d always tried to steer away from that path; only ever treading it when necessary. And this was a necessity. An emergency. The biggest one of them all.

“Take it and run,” he mumbled to himself, barely audible. “Just do it for your grades’ sake.”

But just as he stepped fully into the room his gaze found the person whose cup it was, and every thought of theft left his mind.

The man looked older than him, life having done more damage than it’d had time to do to Jim. His eyes were more than tired when they met Jim’s. They were beat. Exhausted. Most likely barely registering that another person was standing before him, if the amount of time it took him to react was any indication.

But his voice was soft when he greeted him, as if used to dealing with people. “Oh, hello.”

“Hi,” Jim replied, somewhat awkwardly. He felt as if he’d seen that man before, but he couldn’t place him. Couldn’t put a name to the face. “I’m sorry to start off by this, but are you okay?”

The man blinked. “Me?”

“I don’t mean to judge you,” Jim continued. “But I’m pretty sure that the food in your bowl is cold ramen. And it’s 4 in the morning.”

The man - with his stupidly familiar face - broke into an embarrassed, utterly exhausted grin. “Oh. I see why you’d be concerned. I’m not the only one awake right now though. What brings you here?”

Jim pointed at his cup sheepishly. “Coffee. I’ve just run out. I decided to see if someone would be kind enough to give me some.”

“Otherwise you’d steal it,” the man said, with a laugh that meant he was joking, but Jim just managed to not choke on his own spit. “But here,” he added, pushing the cup in his direction. “We can share, as long as my night time ramen meal remains between us.”

Jim couldn’t believe any of his senses. “Are… are you sure?”

“It’s a big cup, right?”

Jim didn’t need to be convinced any further, and within seconds he’d gulped down half the cup, noticing that it was instant coffee and not caring at all.

“Well, someone was thirsty,” the man said, standing and walking over to the kettle to refill the cup with hot water.

“I’ve been through hell and back tonight,” Jim replied. “It’s my first term, but I’m pretty sure it’ll kill me.”

“You didn’t seem very worried on your way here. Nervous, sure, but not worried.”

Okay, now Jim was absolutely positive they’d met before. “I’m gonna sound rude,” he started, making the man raise an eyebrow. “But who are you? We’ve met. That much I’ve gathered. But I can’t for the life of me remember where.”

The man didn’t seem to be the type to blush, but he was now, and Jim was very confused.

“I threw up on you on the shuttle,” he said simply, most likely eager to get it over and done with.

And suddenly Jim remembered.

“Bones? Oh my god, it’s you!”

“Bones?”

“You’ve been avoiding me and my attempts to form a friendship,” Jim pouted. “I mean, I’m sure it’s because of the whole throwing up part, but I promise I’m not mad.”

Bones crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. “I haven’t been avoiding you.”

“Liar.” Jim couldn’t help his smile. “This is great. I haven’t been able to find anyone to match your throwing up skills. But the real deal is better than a forged one, right?”

Bones snorted. “I’m not gonna get rid of you, am I?”

Jim sat down in the other chair and grabbed the cup. “Never.”

And with time he realized that Bones didn’t want to either, despite what he said.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [tumblr](http://thesoundofnat.tumblr.com/)


End file.
